Gripper mechanism.



C. VAN MIDDLESWRTH.

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APPLICATION FILED 0011.15, 1909.

965,128. f f Patented July 19, 1910.

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G. VAN MIDDLESWORTH.

GRIPPER MEGHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED 001215, 1909.

965,128, Patented Ju1y19,1910.

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www@ eo: 51A/ve who@ 90 1% www@ C. VAN MIDDLESWORTH. GRIPPER MEGHANISM.APPLIoATIoN FILED 00T'. 15, 1909.

Patented Ju1y'19, 1910.'

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- UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

CHARLES VAN MIDDLESWORTI-I, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 THE VANDYCK GRAVURE COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

` GRIPPER MECHANISIVI.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 19, 1910.

Original application filed November 28, 1908, Serial No. 464,096.Divided and 'this application 'led October 15, 1909. Serial No. 522,750.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES VAN MID- DLEswoRTH, of Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and in the State of New York, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Gripper Mechanisms, (Case A,) and dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates .to an improvement in gripper mechanisms, andespecially to a gripper mechanism which is adapted to be operated atevery revolution of the printing cylinder or at only every alternaterevolution thereof, and which is adapted to be moved beneath the levelof the printing cylinder when gripping a sheet of paper.

This is a divisional application of m application for printing machines,Serial7 No 464,096, filed November 23rd, 1908.

I have shown one embodiment of my invention in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view'of a printing press equippedwith my invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the operating mechanism forthe grippers; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2; Figs.4 and 5 are enlarged views of details of the operating mechanism; Fig. 6is a side View of the rear portion of the printing press equipped withmy invention; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 8 is a verticalcross-section of the impression cylinder; Fig. 9 is an enlarged detailof one of the grippers carried by the same; Fig. 10 is a plan view of aportion of the printing press; and Fig. l1 is an enlargedcross-sectional view ofthe impression cylinder and paper guides. y

In the accompanying drawings', 1 represents a side standard forsupporting the parts of the printing machine, only one of thesestandards being shown in Fig. 1, although there is a similar standard 2on the other side ofthe machine. Supported in the standards 1 and 2there is an impression cylinder 3 havingits journals 4 located in aneccentric sleeve 5 supported in the journal bearings 6. The eccentricsleeve 5 has attached thereto an arm 7, tothe end of which is attached alink 8 designed to conneet the eccentric sleeve with a manuallyoperatedlever 9. The lower end of the lever 9 is pivoted. at 10 to the sidestandard 1, while the other end of the lever 1s pro- .vded with a handle11, so that the same may be conveniently moved to raise and lower theimpression cylinder.

A feeding table 12 is adapted to besu port-ed at its outer end from thestandards 1 and 2, and at its inner end from the journals 5. This isaccomplished in the following manner :-The table has attached thereto onits under face a supporting bracket 13, the table being pivoted to 'thesame at 14 near the outer end of the table, while the inner end of thetableis supported by vmeans of an adjustable screw 15, screw-threaded inan upright 16 of Lthe bracket 13, and having its head located in contactwith the under face of the table. The outer end of the bracket 13 issupported from the standards 1 and 2 'through the agency of links 16,one of which is situated on either side of the printing machine. Thelinks 16a areconnected at their lower ends to the standards 1 and 2 bymeans of an integral bracket 17 projecting from each ofthe sidestandards. The inner end of the supporting bracket 13 is supporteddirectly upon the eccentric sleeve 5 at each end of the impressioncylinder, as shown in Fig. 6, the bracket for thispurpose being rovidedwith a circular housing 18 surroun ing 'the eccentric sleeve 5. It willthus be seen that by the parts above described, a movement of the handle11 effects a movement simultaneously either up or down of the`impression cylinder 3 and the feeding table 12. rI`he supporting bracket13 also supports journal bearings 19, located on eitherside of theimpression cylinder, for a shaft 20, which carries a series. of dropguides 21. The bearings 19 are situated in detachable arms 22, which arebolted to the upper face of the circular housing 18 by means of thebolts 23. I pre- Vent the shaft 2O from becoming displaced out of itsproper position in a lateral direction, by inserting screws 24 in thejournal bearings 19 so as to register with depressions orf'groovesvlocated at 'these points in the shaft 20. Each of the dropguides 21 comprises a bracket 25 having a split sleeve adapted tosurround the shaft 20 and be tightened upon the same by means of a screw26'having a thumb-piece 27. In the end of the bracket 25 I support, bymeans carry a milled nut 30, which nut 30 is situated in an ripening 31on the end of the bracket 25. spring 32 is provided around the rod 29,between the journal bearing 28 30 is furthermore provided with anannular recess 33 in which a screw-threaded pin 34 is adapted to beprojected and 'tightened so as to maintain the milled nut in itsadjusted position. The end of the rod 29 ca rries a dependin arm 35,which is located in a vertical position. To this arm 35 is riveted acurved guide 36, the end 37 of which is directed toward. the arm 35 inan angular direction. The end' 37 of the c urved guide 36 is, however,directed to a point on the arm 35 slightly above the end of the latter.In the downward position of the drop guide, the arm 35 is designed torest against a tongue 38 which extends from beneath the table 12, fromwhich it is supported by means of a transverse strip 39, as shown inFig. 11. The shaft 20 carries a series of drop guides of the characterde-l scribed and the table l2 carries a series of tongues 38 cooperatingwith said drop guides. It will now be observed that a movement of thehandle 11 so as to raise or lower the impression cylinder 3, resultssimultaneously in a corresponding movement of the dro guides 21 and thetable 12 with its attache tongues 38.

Power is conveyed to the machine from a shaft 40 Supported in the sidestandards 1 and 2. This shaft 40 is connected by suit-' able gears witha shaft 41 also situated in the side standards 1 and 2. As these gearsconstitute no portion of my invention, and as the understanding of themachine would be facilitated by their omission, I have left them out ofthe description of the machine.

The shaft 41 carries the printing'cylinder 41a. rIhe printing cylindermay be of any desired character. It may be a cylinder lprovided with aplanographie printing sur ace, or it may be provided with an intaglio orrelief printing surface, but in the particular printing process which Imake use of in connection with this machine, I use a photogra'vureetching as the printing surface.

Power is conveyed from the printing cylinder by means of a gear 42situated upon the same, tothe impression cylinder 3, which lattercarries at either end thereof a springgear 43. There are, of course, twoof the Y gears 42 to mesh with the two gears 43.`

around which the bed is wound, as shown in Fig. 8, and the other end isgripped upon a beveled edge 73 on the diametrically opposite side of thecylinder 3 by means of jaws 74. As the above means for holding the bedin place is of the usual type, I shall not describe it further. Thecylinder is furthermore provided with gripping jaws for the sheet ofpaper to be printed upon. The lower jaw, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11,comprises a bar 7 3a extending entirely across the cylinder 3,andsupported upon arms or brackets 74a situated upon a shaft 75journaled in the two ends of the cylinder 3. The arms 74a are looselycarried upon the shaft 75. Upper jaws 76 are also situated upon the sameshaft 75, there being a plurality of these jaws 76 situated along saidshaft and bearing upon the lower jaw 73a. Each jaw 76 carries a screw77, the purpose of which is to tighten the jaw 76 upon the shaft when.once va roper adjustment ofthe same has been effected, and also tocause said jaw to move in unison with the shaft 75. At either end of theshaft 75 and upon the interior of the cylinder 3, I locate a gear 78,with which a segmental gear 7 9, also located at either end of thecylinder on the interior thereof, is adapted to mesh. The segmentalgears 79 are pivoted at one end 80 to the ends of the cylinder. Thecenter of each segmental gear 79 has attached thereto a rod 8l, theother end of which is passed loosely through an apertured lug 82,situated at either end of the cylinder 3. A spring 83 is designed toi'est at one end against the lug 82, 'and at the other end against apair of nuts 84 screw-threaded upon the rod 81. The effect of thisconstruction is to normally push the segmental gears 79 upwardly andthus, through the agency of the gears 78, to cause the jaws 76 to closeupon the jaw 73. The jaw 7 3n is movable, but its movement is restrictedby a series of pins 85 which extend through slots 86 therein and arescrew-threaded in brackets 87 projecting from the interior of thecylinder 3. When the arms 76 are in their raised position, the means foreffecting which will be hereinafter described, the jaw 73u isautomatically pressed upwardly or outwardly because of the presence of apluralityl of spring-pressed heads 88 located in the faces of thebrackets 87 and extending into the body of the shell of the cylinder 3,as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The heads 88 are normally pressed outwardlyagainst the face of the jaw 7 3a by the encircling springs 89. Although,as described, the jaws 76, when raised, permit the jaw 73 to rise to acertain extent also, the depression of the jaws Y6-through the agency ofthe springs 83, causes the jaw 73a also to be depressed againstthe forceof the springs 89, as the force of the springs 83 is greater than theforce of the springs 89. -This arrangement permits a sheet of paper tobe gripped at the outer periphery of the cylinder 3, but at the sametime causes the grippers 73al and 76 to be retracted beneath .theperiphery of the cylinder 3 when the grippers reach the printingcylinder. The position in which the grippers are retracted beneath thesurface of the impression cylinder is shown in Fig. 8.

In order to eectI the raising of the jaws 76, the shaft 75 is providedat one end with a short lever arm 90, having atM the outer end' thereofa journal 91 for a roller 92. The roller 92' is designed to run upon theinner surface of a cam 93.

In the operation of the machine, the roller 92 first strikes the cam 93at its lower end,

indicated at 94, at which point the jaws 76 .are raised so as to releasethe sheet of paper and permit it to be removed from the machine bymechanical devices to be herein-` after referred to. As the rollerpasses up wardly along the cam 93, the gripper' jaws 76 are retained intheir open position. The cam 93 near its upper end is given a deepercurve or cut 95. The machine is so constrwcted that when the roller 92reaches the deeper curve 95, the jaw 73El will have reached the edge ofthe sheet of paper to be fed into the machine, and the jaws 76 will havebeen loweredl so as to grasp the sheet of paper, the jaws 73*L and 76being at this point maintained so that the sheet is grasped at the outerperiphery ofthe impression cylinder 3. At this oint in the operation ofthe machine, the jaws 73a and 76 are maintained in the position shown inFig. 9. As the roller 92 passes along the deeper lcut 95 in the cam 93,the jaws are maintained in the position named. When, however, the roller92 passes beyond the end of the cam 93, both of the jaws are moved to alower position, z'. e., that shown in Fig. 8, in which they are beneaththe outer periphery of the cylinder 3 and are thus removed from anyliability to contact with. and injure the rinting cylinder.

As above describe, the machine would operate insuch a manner as to printa sheet at every revolution thereof. I have so constru'cted my machine,however, that it may be adjusted so as to operate at every otherrevolution. When so adjusted,feach sheet of paper will' receive twoimpressions instead of one, thus deepening the tone of the particularcolor being printed. The mechanism which I use for this purpose isconstructed as follows The vcam 93 is carried upon two slide rods 96which are supported support the table 12. The two rods 96 afterextending throughk the extension 97, are

. connected to each other by a bar 98. The

bar 98 carries near its center a roller 99,

which runs within a 'cam 100, carried upon a stub shaft 101 also carriedin the extension 97. The said shaft 101 also carries beyond the cam 93 agear 102 which meshes with another gear 103, situated upon an eX-tensionv of the shaft 4 which carries the impression cylinder. The gear102 is exactly twice the diameter of the vgear 103, so that as aconsequence, when the gears are in mesh a single rotation of theimpression cylinder will produce a half revolution of the gear 102, thusrequiring two revolutions of the gear 103 for each complete revolutionof the gear 102. When the cam 93 has been pulled by the roller 99running upon `the cam surface 100, as far away from the impressioncylinder as possible, said cam 93 is withdrawn from the path of movementof the roller 92. When the cam 93 is in this position, therefore, theroller 92 is not operated upon, and as a consequence, the grip.

pers remain closed: The cam surface 100 is of such a shape, as will beseen by an inspection of Fig. 3, that during a half revolution of thegear 102 the cam 93 is removed from the path of the roller 92, and forthe remaining half revolution of the gear 102 said 'cam 93 is located inthe pat of the roller 92.

"In the operation of this device it will thus beseen that as the gear103 revolves the gear 102 will cause the cam 93 to be movedout of thepath of the roller 92 for every alternate revolution of the gear 103.The impression cylinder is therefore caused to be rotated through twocomplete revolutions without the disengagement of the grippers, so as toeffect a double impressionI upon thesheet. I have, however, made theshaft 4 suiiiciently long so that the gear 103.

which is carried upon said shaft and secured thereto by means of aspline 104, may be moved out of mesh with t e gear 102 so as todisengage the shafts 4 and 101.- When so moved the gear103 will oocupyaposition such as shown inA dotted lines 1n Fig. 3.

As the paper is grasped by the gripper jaws 73a and 76, it is, ofcourse, necessary tomove the .drop guides 21 upwardly out of the path ofthe sheet of paper, -andn order to e'ect this, I locate upon the end of.the

shaft 20, as shown in Fig. 3, a lever arm 105,

lever 110 is curved to permit the extension 106 to move over it with aslittle friction as possible. Upon the same stub shaft 111 lthere is adepending lever arm 112 loosely carried upon said shaft, the lower endof which carries a roller 113 designed to run upon a cam 114, tightlysecured to the sh-aft 4. The lower end' of the leverl arm 112 isnormally maintained in contact with the cam. 114 byy a spring 112, whichis attached thereto at one end and at the other end to a small bracket'112b attached to the frame 97. The lever arm v112 is furthermoremainftained from passing beyond one side of the lower end of thebell-crank lever 110I is pro-- vided with a hole 119 aliningl withtheopening in the bushing 115." W en the pin 117 is located at the innerend of theslot 118,

as shown in Fig. 4, the plunger 1.16 is projectecY into the. hole 119,situated 1n the end of the bell-crank lever 110. Any movement ofv thelever arm 1,12 in thisposltlon of the parts, therefore, causes acorresponding movement of the bell-crank lever 110.

The plunger 116 is moved back `andforth into and out of engagement withthe hole 119 by the movement of the pin 117, which engages with thebifurcated end 119 of a lever 120,v pivoted at 121 to a bracket 122carried upon the side of the frame 97. The lever 120 has at its otherenda roller 123, which runs within the cam 100, above referred to. When theplunger 116 is maintained at its innermost position, in which it engagesthe hole 119, the rotation of the shaft 4, and as a consequence theattached cam 114,- causes the lever arm 112 -to be moved in unison withthe bell-crank 110. As -a consequence, with each revolution of theimpression cylinder the drop guides 21 are raised at the moment that thegri pers pass the edge or end of the feeding tab e 12. The parts operatein the manner described when the gear 103 has been moved into theposition shown in dotted lines, and the gear 102 is caused to remainstationary. When, however, the gear 103 is moved inwardly so as to meshwith the ear 102,' during every other revolution of t e gear 103, and asa consequence the impression cylinder 3, the roller 123 is moved by thecam 100 into such a position that the pin 117 is caused to withdraw theplunger 116 from engagement with the hole 119, thereby permitting themovement of the lever arm 112 `Without causing the movement of lthebell-,crank carried in journal bearings 125 situated in the frame 97.The frame or skeleton 124 carries grippers 126 in the usual manner,which rippers are designed to be opened vat the time that the sheet isreleased by the impression cylinder. y

In order to eifect the opening movement of the grippers 126, a shaft 127upon which the same are located, has iXedly attached thereto a lever arm1281Which carries in its end a roller 129, designed to run upon a camsurface 130, attached to, or situated upon the cam 93. When'the rods 96have been pushed inwardly toward the impression cylinder, the cam 130 ispositioned immediately above the roller 129 so that the latter travelsupon the cam surface 130 in such a manner that the roller enters uponsaid cam surface at its lower end 131 and passes along the same to theupper end 132 thereof, where it is received by a curved depression- 133in the face of the cam. During the time that the roller 129 is upon thelower part'of the cam surface 130, the grippers 126 are maintained openso as to be in position to receive the sheet of paper to be removed fromthe impression cylinder 3. When, however, the roller reaches the curveddepression 133, the grippers 126 are per-- mitted to close upon thesheet of aper, which, when the grippers located in t e 1mpressioncylinder have released the sheet of paper, remove the same and deposit'it be.

neath the circular frame or skeleton 124, whence the sheet may beremoved in any desired manner, by the operator or some form ofmechanism. When, on the other hand, the cam 93 has beenl movedoutwardly" ioo paper being carriedy by thehgimpression cylinder. l

The operation of the machine in general is as follows z-In case it isdesired to print each sheet with asingle impression, the gear 103 ismoved to the outermost end of the shaft 4 out of engagement with thegear 102. The cam 93 is then moved and retained in -its innermostposition, in which it is adapted to engage with the rollers 92. A sheetof paper is nowl fed down the table 12 until. it contacts with the endsof the drop guides 21. When the grippers 73a and 76 reach the edge ofthis sheet of paper, the gripper jaws 76 Will descend and grasp and holdthe sheet of paper tightly against the jaw 7 3. As the roller 92 reachesthe depression 95 in the cam 93, the above mentioned gripping actionwill be elfected, and when the roller 92 passes beyond the end of thecam 93 the gripper jaws 73a and 76 will be permitted to pass beneath theouter periphery of the impression cylinder 3, where they are removedfrom any possibility of contactl with the printing cylinder. The sheetof paper is then rotated until it contacts with the printing surface ofthe rinting cylinder. Meantime, the drop gui es 21 have been raisedthrough the agency of the lever arm 112, which is actuated by the cam114 so as to permit the edge of the paper to pass onward with thecylinder without any danger of tearing. When the sheet of paper reachesthe frame or skeleton 124, the grippers 126 connected thereto are causedto engage the edge of the sheet of paper ecause of the roller 129reaching the curved depression 133 in the cam 130. Simultaneously withthe 'closing of the grippers 126, the gripper jaws 73 and 76 are openedso as to release the sheet of paper, and the same is removed by theframeor skeleton 124 and dropped beneath the frame or skeleton, where itis removed in any desired manner. In the case where it is desired tocause the sheet to be printed with a second impression, the gear 103 ismoved inwardly so as to meshwith gears 102. At every alternaterevolution of the shaft 4, under these circumstances, the

cam 93 is moved out of the path of the roller 92, and the cam surface134 is moved into the path of the roller 129. When so adjusted, thegripper jaws of the impression cylinder remain closed thrpughout tworevolutions of the same, and the frme'or skeleton 124 makes tworevolutions with its grippers entirely open at the point where the sheetis brought into contact with the said frame or skeleton. It is only,therefore, at the end of each second revolution that the sheet iscompletely printed and delivered from the impression cylinder to theskeleton or frame 124. The parts of the roller bearings maybe adjustedin such a manner as to increase their diameter and, therefore, thedistance between the impression cylinder and the printing cylinder. 4Theseparating distance between the two cylinders can also be varied bymanipulation of the lever 9. A movement ofthe lever 9 further effects av.of paper and adjustable means raising of the table 12 and the dropguides 'i 21 in unison with the impression cylinder 3.

While I have described my invention above in detail, I wish it to beunderstood that many` changes may .be made therein without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

I claim y 1. In a device of the character described, the combination ofa rotary bed, gripping means attached thereto for gripping a sheet ofpaper, and means to cause two rotations of the bed before releasing thegrippers comprising a lever attached to said gri ping means, a rotarycam, a pair of slide ro s actuated thereby, and a cam supported by saidslide rods to actuate said lever.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting bed, gripping means attached thereto for gripping a sheet ofpaper and adjustable means permanently mounted in the machine andadapted by a change in position to cause the grippers to be released ateach impression upon a given side of the sheet of paper or only at everyother impression upon said side of the sheet of paper.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a rotarybed, gripping means attached thereto for gripping a sheet ermanentlymounted in the machine and a apted by a change in position to cause thegrippers to be released at each rotation of the bed or only at everyother rotation' of the bed.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting bed, grlpping means attached thereto for gripplng a sheet ofpaper,other gripping means for removin the sheet ofpaper from thesupporting be and means to cause the printing of two impressions uponeach sheet of papel' before releasing the grlppers upon the supportingbed and before causing the engagemen-t of the sheet of paper by theclosing of said other ripping means, said means comprising a everattached to said grl ping means, a rotary cam, a pair of slide ro sactuated thereby, and a cam supported by sald slide rods to actuate saidlever.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting bed, grlpping means for gripping the sheet of paper, othergrip ing means for removin the sheet of paper iiom the supporting be andad- .justable means to cause the grippers on the supporting bed to bereleased at each impression ofthe sheet of paper, and said othergrippers to remove the sheet of paper, or to cause the release of thegrippers on the supporting) bed and theremoval of the sheet of paper ysaid other grippers only at every other impression of the sheet ofpaper.

6. In a device of the character escribed, the combination of a rotarybed, gripping i means attached thereto for gripping a sheet of paper,other' gripping means for removing the sheet 'of paper from thesupporting bed and adjustable means to cause the grippers on the rotarybed to be released and said other grippers to remove the sheet of paperat each rotation of the bed, or to cause the release of the grippers onthe rotary bed andthe removal of the sheet of paper by said othergrippers only at every other rotation df the bed. y

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of animpression cylinder, a shaft carried by the same, a lower gripper jawupon said shaft, spring-pressed means for pressing said jaw outwardly,one or more upper gripper jaws carried by saidshaft, and spring-pressedmeans for pressing both said upper jaw or jaws and lower jaw inwardly.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of animpression cylinder, a shaft carried by the same, a lower gripper jawupon said shaft, springressed means for pressing said jaw outwar ly, astop for stopping the outward movement at the periphery of theimpression cylinder, one or more upper gripper jaws carried by saidshaft and spring-pressed means for pressing both said upper jaw or jawsand lower jaw inwardly.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of acylinder, a shaft therein, a plurality of grippers pivoted on saidshaft, said grippers comprising two sets of independently pivoted armscarrying jaws, the jaws of one set being opposed to those of the other,and independent means operating upon each s et of jaws for moving thesame outwardly.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination of acylinder, a shaft therein, a plurality of grippers pivoted on saidshaft, said grippers comprising two sets of independently pivoted armscarrying jaws, the jaws of one set being opposed to those of the other,independent means operating upon each set of jaws for moving the sameoutwardly, and means for `permitting the grippers to be withdrawn belowthe surface of the cylinder.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES VAN MIDDLESWORTH.

